Trazodone Overdose | Lethal Dose, Symptoms, & Treatment

Signs of a trazodone overdose may include trouble breathing, seizures, sedation, and vomiting. These symptoms can be life-threatening in severe cases. A lethal dose of trazodone may vary depending on your tolerance to the drug and any drug interactions that occur with trazodone.

Trazodone is an antidepressant medication that treats symptoms of major depression in teenagers and adults. It also has off-label uses as a sleep aid and anxiety reliever. Trazodone has been sold under the brand name medications Desyrel, Oleptro, and Trialodine.

While trazodone is not a controlled substance in the United States, the drug can still be dangerous when taken improperly. Proper trazodone use can decrease your risk of serious side effects like overdose.

Lethal Dose Of Trazodone

A lethal dose of trazodone varies from person to person. The maximum recommended daily dose of trazodone is 400 mg. Patients may initially take lower doses of trazodone and work their way to higher doses. Taking higher doses of trazodone abruptly may lead to an overdose.

One case report of trazodone overdose covered a patient who ingested 2000 mg of trazodone in a reported suicide attempt. This patient may have suffered a fatal overdose if they did not receive CPR, lipid ingestion, and other emergency medicine services.

Other Risk Factors

Risk factors of a trazodone overdose may include your tolerance to trazodone, your history of substance abuse, and your current prescription drug use. 

Taking trazodone with monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs), another type of antidepressant, can increase your risk of life-threatening symptoms during directed trazodone use.

Trazodone Overdose Symptoms

Symptoms of a trazodone overdose may include:

• severe drowsiness
• irregular heartbeat
• low blood pressure
• breathing problems
• priapism (painful, long-lasting erections)

Concomitant substance use of trazodone with other antidepressants, such as MAOIs or selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), can increase your risk of trazodone toxicity.

If you experience these symptoms or see signs of an overdose in a loved one, call poison control right away.

Treatment Options For A Trazodone Overdose

Unlike other forms of drug overdose, such as opioid overdose, there are not strict medical emergency protocols in cases of trazodone toxicity. Managing a trazodone overdose may include stabilizing the patient’s vital signs, restoring breathing, and managing overdose symptoms.

If you or a loved one suffer a trazodone overdose, you may be at a higher risk for other serious side effects of trazodone, such as serotonin syndrome, increased risk of self-harm, and trazodone addiction.

For information on our central nervous system depressant addiction treatment services, such as drug detox, behavioral health services, and management of withdrawal symptoms, please contact us today.